Battle.net Accounts!

So Blizzard appears to be moving in a more unified direction! Yesterday they announced the expansion of their Battle.net service. It looks like they're setting things up so that going forward you can log into WoW, Diablo III, Starcraft II, and all their upcoming betas with a single set of login information.

This is all well and good, of course, but what I'm really excited about is the ability to keep track of your CD Keys for earlier games, which will let you download and play games like Diablo II and Warcraft III on any computer. Anyone who's been a regular reader of this blog will know that this is an exciting prospect for me personally. Just be careful with your account information!

We’re pleased to introduce the Battle.net account -- a brand-new way for players to manage their Blizzard Entertainment games, make online Blizzard store purchases, log in to World of Warcraft, and more using just one set of login information.

World of Warcraft players now have the option to create a Battle.net account, merge a World of Warcraft account (or multiple accounts) with it, and begin logging in to the game, the Armory, and the forums using their new Battle.net account login information.

Fewer passwords to remember. One single login lets you access World of Warcraft, the online Blizzard store, and more -- including upcoming games such as StarCraft II and Diablo III.

Opt in to upcoming Blizzard Entertainment beta tests. Put yourself in the running to be invited to test upcoming games.

Easy access to your classic games. Store your CD keys for classic Blizzard Entertainment titles, and then download the games whenever you wish.

And more to come… We’re planning to add more features in the future, including tools to help friends communicate between games and bring players closer together.

At this time, signing up is completely optional -- but if you’re interested in taking advantage of the benefits of the Battle.net account today, check out the FAQ for more information, or create an account now.

Комментарии

Комментарий от Huurka

Комментарий от Restoration

You can also create your eu one now but cannont merge your wow account to it yet.

Комментарий от thelaks

on 2009-03-20T15:24:29-05:00

Maybe I'm missing something...but the only real change I see is that now you have to type your email address to login rather than just a username. Damn those wasted seconds! :)

Be cool when they release the iPhone authenticator app though....no more forgetting to bring my gizmo.

Комментарий от drainyou

on 2009-03-20T15:39:02-05:00

This is great stuff. I have a slew of Blizzard titles in boxes here and there - a few old computers with certains ones installed and a couple PC's with others. It'll be great to just find those keys and tie them to the online account and any future upgrades just requires a download through the account.

Hope it goes a bit smoother than the STEAM transition. Oy.

I'm already trying to fiscally plan for the D3 release and a 1-2 month break from working.

While Wow is certainly an easy game to get wrapped up into.....the diablo series is truly addicting and I have no doubt the next era of the series will prove just as crack-tastic.

Комментарий от Yizelin

on 2009-03-20T15:41:55-05:00

Now if only I could remember my old D2 info... or find the cds for it for that matter.

Комментарий от Gryphon

on 2009-03-20T15:42:59-05:00

Maybe I'm missing something...

What were you expecting?

Комментарий от hezec

on 2009-03-20T16:41:41-05:00

US / Oceanic accounts only.

Meh.

Комментарий от Interest

on 2009-03-20T17:18:11-05:00

Be warned, there's currently many issues that have arisen that are related to merging the WoW account and battle.net account together.

(I hate to be a bit cynical about this new feature. It's actually quite great and convenient. I'm just noting they haven't worked all the kinks out yet).

Комментарий от Goldish

on 2009-03-20T17:45:18-05:00

I don't like that I have to use my email address to login to my WoW account. This isn't a feature to me.

I canceled my account merger and will just live without armory function and everything else that is broken for me now.

Комментарий от Gryphon

on 2009-03-20T17:48:49-05:00

Probably because the login name isn't a feature of the system...

Комментарий от MasterOfDisguise

on 2009-03-20T18:22:32-05:00

If you're really concerned about your account security, set up a brand-new e-mail address with a difficult, yet unique password--don't share it with anyone--and use that as your Battle.Net account name. In addition, if you have an authenticator, keep it safe with you as well as well as your login information too. If you do that, you should be fine.

Комментарий от merlin83221

Other issue is it doesn't work with starcraft and games like warcraft2 you still have to use your old login stuff.

Комментарий от Lusky

on 2009-03-20T20:13:51-05:00

Sounds like Steam... coincidence?

Комментарий от Caladein

on 2009-03-20T21:05:10-05:00

The "Download Your Games" feature has been part of the Blizzard Store for some time. I've had my Starcraft and WC3/TFT CD Keys tied to my Blizzard Account for months without problems. All this really is is a merger of the Blizzard Account with WoW for most folks.

No need for the "OMG it'll be just like when Steam came out" doom-and-gloom, even though I didn't have much problem with that either.

Комментарий от Gryphon

on 2009-03-20T21:08:49-05:00

Yeah my thought too. The CD key storage and game repo has been a part of this for some time. The only thing really new about this is the WoW account merge.

Комментарий от Miyari

on 2009-03-20T23:07:10-05:00

I don't like the fact that you can't create login identities separate from the battle.net account login (ie. your email) by choice. It seems ridiculously insecure to me and I can't help but feel that someone had the idea in the back of their minds that this would push authenticator sales. I can see why it's more convenient and all that, but it's a definite blow to account security considering the massive amount of users who use the same email addresses for everything. Now as long as you know someone else's email address you have an extremely high chance of knowing their WoW login. GJ Blizzard.

I understand people would just be like "LOL JUST MAKE A NEW EMAIL U NOOB" cause yeah, I know a lot of people do that when registering on websites and stuff that they may not "trust" but when the idea is that this is done for convenience, suddenly it's not very convenient anymore. I didn't mind my Blizzard account being one of my main e-mail addresses, because I actually check and read it and so on. But my WoW account? No thanks. Now I'd have to set up another account and redirect forwarding and then proceed to login with some random address that just exists to be a login, instead of Blizzard just allowing you to use a login name. Sigh.

*reactivates her authenticator*

Комментарий от thelaks

on 2009-03-20T23:12:08-05:00

I don't like the fact that you can't create login identities separate from the battle.net account login (ie. your email) by choice.

Yessir.

Комментарий от Lugburz

on 2009-03-21T02:11:59-05:00

Yes personally I really do not like the changes to Battle.net. While it seems like the benefits are great I'm fine thanks using different accounts. For Starcraft and Warcraft 3 while yes its unsafe I use the same account information. Then for WoW I have my completely different information and E-mail. I am worried about what we'll have to do when Starcraft 2 comes out. For now I will not be merging.

Комментарий от slicendice101

on 2009-03-21T05:59:18-05:00

It reminds me of google accounts and windows live accounts, where you use one account to access a vast amount of features, although the only problem with battle.net is there isn't a large amount of feature to utilize, this might change in the future but right now it seems pointless.

Комментарий от Arideni

on 2009-03-21T08:40:42-05:00

I won't be merging my WoW account with anything until forced to do so. Less passwords? Oh, please. A single password could be used for years, but it must be a very strong password. Most people don't use strong passwords because they find them hard to remember. So write the password down and put it in your wallet.

I can see potential in bringing gamers together, but isn't that why Valve introduced the Steam platform? Yet years later it is still hated with utmost vehemence and last I checked the Friends IM system was still broken.

"Download all this stuff so we don't have to deal with publishers and merchandising!"